MOVIES

AFF announces big slate of movies for October

Greg Daniels of 'The Office' to get writing honor

By Charles Ealy
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, September 19, 2008

Greg Daniels, a writer on such acclaimed TV shows as "The Office," "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and "Saturday Night Live," will get the Outstanding Television Writer Award at the Austin Film Festival in October, organizers announced today.

The festival, which distinguishes itself by focusing on writers rather than celebrities, will also have plenty of high-profile local premieres when it unspools.

The opening-night film will be Oliver Stone's sure-to-be-controversial "W.," focusing on the early adulthood of President Bush, followed by the fest's centerpiece, "Role Models," written by Paul Rudd, David Wain and Ken Marino and starring Rudd and Seann William Scott. The closing-night movie will be James Gray's "Two Lovers," which was selected for the prestigious competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The festival starts Oct. 16, with the awards luncheon on Oct. 18 at the Austin Club.

But the highlight for film lovers might be the screening of Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire," about an 18-year-old orphan in Mumbai who is one question away from winning 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The movie won the coveted top prize, the People's Choice Award, at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. (Toronto doesn't have a juried award; it lets the moviegoers vote.)

Two other movies with big connections to the Cannes Film Festival will also have their regional premiere here.

Writer/director Charlie Kaufman will present "Synecdoche, New York," which wowed many critics in France and focuses on a theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who tries to re-create New York inside a warehouse.

And director Kelly Reichardt will present "Wendy and Lucy," starring Michelle Williams, ex-wife of the late Heath Ledger. It screened in Cannes' "Un Certain Regard" program. Written by Reichardt and Jon Raymond, it has been hailed as representative of a new movement of realism in American cinema.

Other screenings include "American Swing," "Bart Got a Room," "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story," "Death in Love," "A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy," "The Great Buck Howard," Mike Leigh's "Happy Go-Lucky," "How to Be," "Lake City," "Largo," "Phantom Punch" and "Summerhood."

Two movies with big local connections also will screen. They are "American Widow Project," directed by Taryn Davis and Don Swaynos, and "I'll Come Running," written by Line Langebek and Spencer Parsons and directed by Parsons.

As usual, the festival will host numerous panels on the art of screen and TV writing, with some of the biggest names in the business: Shane Black ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"); John August ("The Nines" and "Big Fish"); Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia ("Jericho"); John Lee Hancock ("A Perfect World"); Stephen Harrigan ("The Last of His Tribe"); Melissa Rosenberg ("Twilight" and "Dexter"); Terry Rossio ("Pirates of the Caribbean"); and Tim Kring ("Crossing Jordan" and "Heroes").

One of the joys of the Austin Film Festival is that conference participants will have easy access to such writers in an informal setting.

Daniels, this year's top honoree, launched his career by writing for HBO's "Not Necessarily the News" before moving to "Saturday Night Live," which earned him his first Emmy. He received a Writers Guild Award nomination for the "Seinfeld" episode titled "The Parking Space."

Daniels has gone on to win Emmys for such shows as "The Simpsons" and "The Office." He is working on a new series for NBC, starring "Saturday Night Live" comedian Amy Poehler.

The festival, which champions the work of aspiring writers and filmmakers, runs through Oct. 23, while the conference will be held from Oct. 16-19.

For a list of panelists and events, more information or to register, go to www.austin

filmfestival.com or call 478-4795 or 800-310-3378. Conference badges and film passes can be purchased online or by phone.

cealy@statesman.com; 445-3931